12 states on the path to concealed carry with no permit.

"Andrew Arulanandam, policy director for the National Rifle Association's Institute for Legislative Action, which supports these legislative efforts, argues that crime rates are low in four states — Alaska, Arizona, Vermont and Wyoming — that already allow residents to carry without a permit. "Our viewpoint is, a good person will always be a good person," he said. "They don't need a license to be a good person."

...

States that have been or are considering bills in current legislative sessions include Colorado, Iowa, Georgia, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota and Virgina, according to the NRA.

South Dakota could be the fifth state to join the ranks of permit-less carry states. Lawmakers last week passed a measure allowing anyone 18 and older with a valid state driver's license to carry a concealed weapon, as long as they don't have a background that would otherwise prohibit them from getting a permit. The bill awaits action from Republican Gov. Dennis Daugaard."

I figured that as more and more states tracked concealed carry permit holders and noticed that the rate of revocation was near zero that they would figure out that there is not much point in tracking them. It's a big bureaucratic expense that achieves little.

If all of these states join the current five that don't require a permit for CCW, just about half the country will allow CCW without a permit.

5. I'm responding to the part that states: NO permit. nt

8. Vermont has had no problems since 1790

and Wyoming since 1995. Of course, these are rural states where gun ownership is common and you are either in the sticks or Mayberry.
In suburbs where people don't know how to load a revolver, you may have a point.

23. I disagree a little.

There is no digging in a purse if it has a pocket specifically designated for a firearm. Some Galco purses are designed with holsters in them to make the draw simple and keep the firearm positioned inside the purse. Also there are holsters specifically designed to be placed into a purse to hold the firearm in a specific position and orientation inside the purse.

Basic self defense teaches how to retain your purse. If you also train with your purse it should not be an issue.

You are correct however that if it is in a purse, you could end up separated from it.

My wife bought this for herself a few weeks ago. That is a Tritium sight. It's a pisser to shoot. She keeps it in a Galco pocket holster in her front pocket. Even with the little skinny jeans she wears, you cannot even make out the outline of it.

14. what do you fear?

I am guessing you don't live in Vermont. If you do, you don't know Vermont's gun laws. Even there I doubt more than four or five percent actually do.
People "feel the need" or prefer not to for many number of reasons, since I don't know their situations I have no business to judge one way or anther. Some really do have a legitimate threat. I only know that my decision works for me at the moment.
How are they a threat to you? A firearm does not control the possessor's mind.
Simply because someone has a gun does not make them a threat. Simply because someone does not have a gun does not make them safe. In all US violent crimes, only about 20 percent or less of the bad guys have a gun.

17. My pleasure.

I think I will assume that anyone I meet could be armed and hopefully I don't do anything that is met with a gun as the answer!

You are right that anyone you meet could be armed. But as for CCW permit holders (or people who would have gotten one when they were required), you have little to fear. Not all states provide the statistics, but for the ones that do, the picture is quite clear: CCW permit holders are hyper-law-abiding people. They are less likely to be involved in any kind of crime, let alone firearm-related crime, than anyone else you might encounter in public. They also are less likely to cause collateral damage in a shootout than even the police.

So in reality, you would be safer surrounded by only concealed carry permit holders rather than a random selection of the public at large.

I guess what's bothering me is of a little deeper concern and that's why do people feel the need to be armed in the first place? I would guess, fear.

I don't carry a concealed weapon. It's simply too much of a hassle and I don't feel that I will need one. But if I were a pizza delivery driver, or a psychiatrist, or a manager who closed up shop, or a taxi driver, or a paramedic, or other dangerous occupation, I absolutely would carry one.

People carry firearms for a variety of reasons, but the common motivating factor is to be prepared in case of emergency. In this regard, carrying a firearm is no different than carrying a spare tire in your vehicle, or wearing a seat belt. Sure, "fear" drives us to do these things, but it's not a pathological fear. It's simply a prudent recognition of the fact that it costs little to be prepared and it costs much to be unprepared.

18. Fear is not always the driver for those who chose to carry concealed ...

Some people just like being prepared.

While I have never been in a serious accident in 50 years, I still wear a seat belt. All the accidents that I have had when I was driving involved people running into the rear end of my vehicle at fairly low speed. Even when not driving, I have never been in an accident where someone went to a hospital. That in no way means that one will not happen tomorrow, but I don't live in fear that it will.

No home that I was living in ever had a fire, but I have a fire extinguisher ten feet from where I am sitting. My house has numerous fire alarms.

I have been shooting handguns for at least 40 years. I have a license to carry one concealed but I do not expect to ever have to use it for legitimate self defense and I pray that I never will. The revolver I carry is an extremely light .38 caliber and I simply grab it and its holster and slide both into my pants pocket when I leave the house.

I use commonsense and practice something called "situational awareness" when out and about. I learned how to do this many years ago in martial arts training. Therefore, I do not walk down dark streets with a cell phone glued to my ear. I do not visit outdoor ATMs at 2 am. If I pull into a parking lot and see a bunch of suspicious people hanging around, I go to another store. I make eye contact with people on the street. I look alert.

I don't recommend that everyone run out and get a gun. Firearms can be lethal and owning one can lead to a tragedy. My main concern with not requiring a license to carry a firearm is that people with little or no experience with handguns and firearm safety may decide to "pack heat" and may injure themselves or others accidentally. Most states require an individual to attend a firearm training course in order to get a carry permit. To me that is a good idea. Even so, the decision to own or carry a firearm can still lead to a tragedy. All too often even a person with good training who is abusing alcohol can have a tragic accident. Once again, firearms are not for everybody and you have to realize that you may well regret your decision to own one.

Simply practicing situational awareness is probably all a person has to do to be reasonably safe. It may also be a good idea to carry a good pepper spray just in case.

35. IIRC, there are some 1 million violent crimes per year.

It makes sense to have some preparation for such an occurance. What those preparations are varies by individual and circumstances, but I have no moral standing to limit someone else if I'm not going to be there to help them in an emergency.

7. look up the definiton of 3rd world

6. Alaska and Arizona?

"Andrew Arulanandam, policy director for the National Rifle Association's Institute for Legislative Action, which supports these legislative efforts, argues that crime rates are low in four states — Alaska, Arizona, Vermont and Wyoming — that already allow residents to carry without a permit. "Our viewpoint is, a good person will always be a good person," he said. "They don't need a license to be a good person."

22. while you are at it

El Paso's murder rate was 0.8/100K making it the safest in the US
on the other hand,
Ciudad Juárez 229
to explode a few heads
Thunder Bay, Ontario 4.2
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan 3.7
Regina, Manatoba 3.7
Vancouver, BC 1.5

27. HINT:

33. Yes I screwed that up. But the idea stays the same

out of 50 states Alaska, which the NRA spokesperson claims is a safe place has 36 states that are safer. Arizona, which the NRA also claims is safe has 41 states out of 50 that are safer.
I'm more than happy to have my mistakes pointed out and I gladly take credit for my mistakes. On the other hand, it'd be nice for those that point out and question my words to also be as diligent with the NRA statement in the original post so as not to be viewed as a hypocrite.

29. I'm curious about those rankings

When I followed the link in your linked article to the source for the "CQ Press Rankings," it came up as page not found.

I remember making a comment not long ago (maybe on DU2?) pointing out that Arizona and Illinois sat right next to each other on the FBI violent crime rankings.

Interesting, given that Illinois is the only state in the union to prohibit concealed carry, while Arizona doesn't even recognize it as a legal distinction any more. Apparently the legality of carrying a firearm is not a huge predictor of where your state will sit in the violent crime rankings.